Sanitary napkin



RITTER March 15, 1932.

SANITARY NAPKIN Filed gune 3Q 1926 swam W070 Patented Mar. 15, 1932 UNITED STATES PA OFFICE WILLIAM H. BITTER, OF NEW BRUNSWICK,

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR 'r'o JOHNSON &

JOHNSON, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY SANITARY NAPKIN Applicatiouyfiled June 30,-

The present invention relates to sanitary napkins and their methods of manufacture and aims to improve the pads or fillings to the end of greater efficiency and comfort and The great advancement in' matters of hygiene and sanitation has suggested that the pads or fillings for such articles be of such nature as, after use, to be capable of quick disposal via the usual sewage connections. Hence, it is now largely the practice to employ pads or fillings of cellulosic material fabricated in.various ways, but generally existing in the form of laminated sheets of crepe, tissue or blotting paper. While this practice may be regarded as economical from v the standpoint of the manufacturer and the user, hotels, for example, regard it as a serious problem and find it necessary regularly to employ plumbers-to take care of stoppage. The difficulty is unquestionably due'to the intensive absorptive properties of the pad,

its propensity to mat or integrate in taking up secretions, and finally its failure or slowness to undergo disintegrationin itssodden state.

It also has been proposed to provide pad: or fillin material composed of cellu-paper in a fiberized state, but that material suffers the disadvantage that its fibers are short and are devoid of life due to the chemical and mechanical treatment incidental to the heating, digesting, paper making, creping, cutting, and other steps necessary to its manufacture, so that while in appearance it bears some resemblance to the fibrous down of my invention, in reality it is but a counterfeit thereof for its fibers are dead or inert asis manifested by the fact that when subjected to compression and then released it remains in the compressed state due to the lack of airenclosing properties and ultimately will condense, felt or mat, whereas the fibrous down of my invention is composed of live or active fibers in all of their inherent length, strength and elasticity so that it hasgreat air-enclosin properties and when compressed and then re eased it immediately expands to its original volume and thus ensures comfort and is based upon my 1926. Serial No. 119,559.

conformability in the use for'which it'is into return to its regular volume a-fter'compression and release of compression and will efliciently ing or matting andwhich, in its sodden state, will rapidly disintegrate in the presence of water. 7 "I i For a better understanding of the nature of my invention and the manner inwhich the same may be practiced, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view of the starting product. Fig. 2 is a view of the same in its mechanically reduced or floccy state.

Fig. 3 isa view greatly magn'fied of ,one of the filamentary compone'nts, showing its receptive capacity for trapping air and other fluids.

Fig. 4 is a view of the fugitive filaments gathered in strip or bat form and with one end severed to provide a pad." Fig. 5 illustrates the next step of applying a medium to prevent casual dispersal of the filamentary bodies.

Fig. 6 illustrates the complete assembly or end product, including a soft gauze wrapper. According to my invention, I start with a purified blank or web of high grade cardtake up secretions without pack which I reduce mechanically to. an exboard or fairly heavy paper pulp,.such as inmachine the details of which are not essen tial to a proper understanding ofthis disclosure, I reduce the stock, while in a dry state, to practically a uniform state of filament subdivision, that is to say to a floccy or flufly state of pure fiber as roughly indicated in Fig. 2. It may here be remarked that there is no waste, the material simply being converted from what may be termed a solid state of aggregated fibers to a state of flufi'y separate or unattached filamentary fibers each of which has been opened up by the conversion process to present cells or canals capable of trapping air and other fluid. v 3 There is just enough compression or' gathering action to so order and arrange the floccy or filamentary material that it will be discharged in strip or bat form. In this state it is air-laden or capable of trapping air, which is highly desirable because the presence of air pockets prevents too'rapid absorption of secretions and the usual matting or integrating. of the pad. And, in disposal.

under water, the escaping air aids in the dis- 4 persal of the filaments in the general disintegration process. The strip or bat is severed transversely to pad length as indicated at 5.

The next operation is to apply a light textured, disintegratable medium or jacket to prevent casual dispersal of the filaments. The jacket 6, Fig. 5, may be simply a strip of crepe paper withjust enough holding power and just enough overlap with respect to the pad to maintain the filamentary components thereof in gathered relation, the idea being that the jacket will readily part and admit of fugitive action of the filaments when immersed in water. It further will be noted, with reference to Fig. 5, that the porous membranous structure, vest, or acket 6 while substantially surrounding the pad or filling, nevertheless, admits of conformable behaviour of the filling. In short, as is apparent from the illustration, Fig. 5, the vest or jacket 6 is not a closed tube or form or like constricting element, it is longitudinally divid'ed, that is to say, its proximate edges are relatively free or unattached in order not to interferewith the expansive action of the filling and, moreover, said vest or jacket is composed of light textured cellulosic or cobwebby paper. It here may be remarked that no matter how soft and conformable the pad or filling per se may be, such quality of softness and conformability utterly is lost by straight-jacketing the pad as it were (as was the practice prior to' my invention) in an enclosing medium which is relatively still and hard and at any rate, not free .'to respond to conformable efforts of the. pad. I main-' tain the softness or down-like quality of the pad by a pressure sensitive,light textured, porous membranous structure of material, preferably, mainfested in the form of cobwebby paper; and I insure conformability of the pad or fillin by longitudinally dividing the vestor jac et, the proximate edges ing the bottom and two sides of the filling and substantially surrounding the same and conforming disposable filling constituted of cellulosic stock existing as a mass of flufiy along the line of division orseparation being free and unattached, so that the pad and vest assembly is wholly free of stress or constrictive effort as regards the receptacle function of the vest. The inner side of the full face 7 of the jacket may be treated in an usual way --to. make it fluid repellent, but t at expedient is not essential it being a merit of the improved filling that it efliciently will serve its purpose without the aid of so-called fluid I repellent materials. The omission of paraffins, varnishes, and other repellents makes for a softer article, and, hence, comfort. V

While I prefer to employ pure cellulosic stock of the nature of alpha ulp, it will be understood that other flufiy, lamentary material maybe substituted therefor and used in conjunction with the vest 6.

The final operation is the application of a soft gauze Wrapper 8.

' The flufi'y filamentary pad of my invention'is self-conforming and being air-laden or capable of trapping air absorbs secretions in such way as not to compact, mat or integrate and, when ready for disposal, rapidly disintegrates in the presence of water, the entrapped air in its efforts to escape being an important factor in the disintegrating process. 7

Having described my invention, I claim 1. A sanitary napkin, including a filling composed of a mass of fibers of flufl'y, characteristics, a vest of cobwebby paper coverhaving its proximate edges relatively free so as not to interfere with the conformative behaviour of the filling, and a gauze casing.

2. A sanitary napkin, comprisin a selffibers, and a carrier for the filling consisting of 'sheeted cellulosic stock enfoldlng the filling and having its adjacent edges unattached so that it is free to respond to self-conforming efforts of the filling, and a gauze'casing.

3. A sanitary napkin, comprising a soft, down-like, fluffy filling constituted of cellulosic stock in fiberized state and free from size and other organic matter, the fibers having marked individual air-trapping properties so that when the filling is compressedand then released from compression it will expand and resume its normal volume, means disposable along with the filling and efiecthe fibers without such confinement as would hamper expansive action of the filling,.said means embodying a pressure-sensitive filmy porous 7 sheet substantially surrounding the filling and having its a jacent edges relatively free, and an open mesh fabric casing.

tive normally to prevent fugitive action of sanitary napkin including a filling of live fiberof fugitive and'flufi'y characterformable and disintegrat istics, and a carrier for the filling and dis posable along with it and embodym a porous membranous structure conforma le with the filling and 0 on at its ends and divided longitudinally w ereby the filling is free to expand hen released from compression, and a gauge casing. km 5. sanita na com risin a conry P al zle aisorbent filling consisiting of cellulosic stock in a uniform filamentary state and characterized byflufiiness which makes for bulk in contrast to weight, a carrier for the filling and embodying disintegratable sheeted material substantially surrounding the fillingand having its adjacent edges free to move toward and.

away from each other in response to conformative movement of the filling, and a gauze casing.

6. A sanita napkin, including a readilydisposable hig y, expansible absorbent pad constituted of a loose aggregate or mass of fugitive and flufiy cellulosic fibers, a shape retaining member for the filling consisting of sheeted material-permeable to fluids and having inherent pressure-sensitive properties,.said sheeted material substantially embracing the filling but havin parts relatively movable transversely t ereof whereby there is coordinate conforming action be tween the filling and sheeted material, and a gauze casing externally of the sheeted niaterial. r

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

H. BITTER 

